Red River #13 by Chie Shinohara Manga Review

Yuri and Kail, separated by war, fight to defend the Hittite empire from the armies that seek to conquer it. As Yuri strives to repel the invaders from Arzawa with as little bloodshed as possible, she learns the awful truth behind the two-pronged attack. The scheming Queen Nakia, plotting to see her son seated on the Hittite throne, has cleverly devised a plan to keep Yuri in her clutches. If she destroys the spring that she used to magically transport Yuri to the past, the girl will never be able to return to her own time. As Yuri races back to Hattusa to prevent the destruction of her only way home, the morning star appears in the sky. Will she be able to put a stop to the evil queen’s ambitions?

When this volume arrived at my doorstep, I was intrigued by the little “Explicit Content” label on the cover. My hopes leapt. Would Yuri and Kail finally get together? I mean, we’re going on 13 volumes of poor Kail ending his encounters with his beloved less than fulfilled. I don’t mean to dash anyone’s expectations, but the two aren’t even in the same country for the entire length of the book! Rats! Why is the stupid warning label on the book? Your guess is as good as mine.

I am really enjoying this series. As long as I check my disbelief at the door, I don’t even have a problem with Yuri leading one of the armies to defend the empire against Arzawa. Her plan to bloodlessly capture one of the occupied cities seemed a little far-fetched, but I liked the art so much during the dancing scene that I accepted it after only the briefest hesitation. Yuri has such pretty jewelry – why doesn’t anyone every cos-play her? If her skirt wasn’t so ridiculously short, I would consider it myself.

Chie Shinohara cleverly thought of a way to keep her character from returning home. By destroying the spring, Yuri is stuck in the past. Since Nakia still wants to sacrifice the girl so her son, Juda, will become king, the villainous queen needs to ensure Yuri doesn’t escape her clutches. How better to achieve her goal than to cover the spring with a new temple, built as tribute to the new king, Kail?

When Kail hears of the queen’s scheme, he immediately splits his forces and sends part of his army to stop Nakia. He’s promised Yuri that she’ll return to her home, and he’ll put himself in danger to keep his word. Too bad for our courageous hero that the conniving Ramses is near-by, and he’ll do anything to possess Yuri…

Cliffhanger warning! Make sure you volume 14 near at hand, or you are going to be sorry!